Just A Little Detour
by CelestialLoverxxx
Summary: Natsu was more than sure of proposing to Lucy. What he didn't expect was a little detour as he got arrested, broke out and stole a bike all the way to give that ring. Birthday gift for lucyglitter11 :)


**Here's to hoping you still like NatsuxLucy ;)**

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**Just A Little Detour**

It was _beyond _infuriating.

Natsu's body tingled with irritation as he stared at the traffic signal—still red. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel of his white new Mercedes, his eyebrows knit together in a scowl.

Would the cars just _stop _coming from the opposite streets?!

He pressed the horn uselessly, getting angrier with each press. Finally an aggressive young man poked his head out of a battered car next to him. "Would you quit that?!"

Natsu growled in frustration and stopped torturing the horn.

One night, _one night_ he wanted to arrive on time. Probably one of the most important nights of his life yet. And he _had _to get stuck on the busiest Magnolia road. He _had _to wait until every other darn car got through before he could drive another mile.

He looked down at the small velvet box next to him on the seat, stroking it. Inside, a white-gold ring with a sapphire set in the middle sat.

Natsu was beyond nervous as well. But he had made up his mind to propose to Lucy Heartfilia tonight. He was finally going to do it.

He very thought of Lucy with her blonde hair and bright, amused eyes and smile made him feel a bit better. Her teasing, her kindness, when she got mad, when she kissed him…he loved it all.

Sadly for Natsu, she was going to be a lot more than _mad _if he wasted another minute. He knew how excited he sounded on the phone when he asked her to meet at a restaurant in one the busiest parts of Magnolia—Riverside.

He couldn't really blame it _all _on the traffic. He had spent fifteen minutes at home trying to wear a suit, trying to ignore Gray's jibes of "You don't even _own _a suit, do you?" from last night.

Of course he didn't own one. He never bothered for a high school prom either. Gray pissed him off so he decided to prove him wrong.

Which, in Natsu's case, was not always very wise. Hence the strangled tie that lay at the bottom of his bed at the moment.

"Damn it!" He muttered under his breath, staring at the stuck cars, cutting off the engine at last. "Move, can't you?"

_Natsu, relax._

He glanced up at the signal. Red.

_Deep breaths._

He glared at the policeman.

_Calm down._

He punched the steering wheel.

_Relax. _

_Relax._

The signal turned green. Natsu started the ignition faster than he blinked and raced forward before a single car behind him.

A deafening crash followed and the next thing Natsu knew, he was on his back, facing the inside roof of the car. He felt like the breath had been knocked out of his lungs.

So much for his relaxing.

His first thought should have been his freaking new Mercedes. But the first groan that came out of his mouth was; "Bloody hell." Then he remembered the box beside him and his groping fingers came in contact with it; he quickly shoved it in his jeans pocket.

Someone dragged him by the arms outside on the street. It was cold and mildly wet enough to jerk Natsu right back up and look up at the ferocious scowl of the officer who had pulled him out.

He quickly glanced at his upturned Mercedes. The paint was chipped, the glass was broken. But for an usually perilous-looking accident, it was pretty whole. And cool. Damn cool. Gray would have been so jealous.

"You got somethin' to say, lad?" The officer demanded, pulling him up by his leather jacket collar and pinning him to his car.

Natsu looked sideways to see what had hit him. Or he had hit, more like. A huge truck stood in the middle of the road, a gaping dent in its side. It blocked all four streets, so from an aerial view one would probably see a giant cross made of cars.

"Sorry?"

The officer glared at him, jerking his thumb to the truck. The angry drivers bad-mouthing Natsu behind him for blocking the road didn't help.

"You hit that cheese-truck!" The man almost spat into his face. Natsu would have punched him in the face if the badge of MPD was not on the officer's collar.

"I hit…a cheese truck?" Natsu cocked an eyebrow. His Mercedes was ruined, he was so, so late for such an important night, and he was being held for hitting milk products?

Great. He loved tonight.

"Yes!" The officer pushed him tighter towards the car. "A Swiss one at that!"

Natsu's temper flared and he tried to kick himself out of the officer's grasp. Behind him the headlights flickered as the truck was moved off the road; cars zoomed past Natsu.

"Look here, I have to go someplace really fast, so just cut out your fine from my wallet and lemme go," he said loudly.

He pushed the officer away when he tried to grab his wrists. The next second he was slammed onto the steaming door of his Mercedes, his hands being handcuffed from behind.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Natsu yelled.

"Well for one, you're under arrest for hitting a truck and going at that speed. For another, you assaulted an officer."

He was so pissed that he didn't even know what to say as he was marched up to the nearest police station. He hit a few Swiss cheeses, so _what_?!

He was thrown into a bunker and locked up when they reached. There wasn't anyone inside, but Natsu wouldn't exactly call a jail cell spacious either.

"Wait until someone bails you out," the officer said gruffly. He pointed at a black phone set into the stone outside the bars.

Natsu gave him his best Basilisk glare. "Who even _eats_ Swiss cheese?!" he yelled after the officer as he walked away, completely ignorant of the fact that Natsu himself ate them by the box.

But then. Natsu ate everything. Anyone could take a look at Lucy's fridge for that.

_Lucy_.

Natsu jerked up. "Lucy!" He ran his hands through his hair, tensed. He was half an hour late!

Then he glanced at the phone.

_Natsu. No._

He got up and pressed his hands to the bars of the cell.

_Natsu. She'll be pissed. You can't call Lucy to bail you out._

Then he huffed and called out to the nearest officer who was watching him with distaste. "You! There!"

_Natsu. Don't._

The man raised a brow at him. "What?"

Natsu was perhaps not the brightest guy. But this officer would probably stare at the calendar all day before realizing it was his birthday.

"Oh I don't know, I wanted to tango with you," Natsu said sarcastically. His suit was getting dirty, his _new _Mercedes was gone, he was sitting in a jail cell on the day he was going to propose, and Lucy would perhaps leave him for good if he _didn't _propose.

"Huh?"

Natsu gritted his teeth. "I need to use the PHONE! I need someone to bail me outta here!" he shouted.

"Oh." The officer looked around for a moment and then unlocked the cell. Natsu stepped out, relieved. The musky smell of the cell was getting to him.

The officer watched him warily as he picked the battered, black phone up and dialed a number with nervous fingers.

"Hello?" The voice said from the other end. Natsu sighed.

"Erza. I need help."

"Natsu?"

Natsu nodded into the phone before realizing Erza Scarlet—Lucy's and his best friend—couldn't see him.

"Wait….where are you calling from?" she demanded. "This is not your number."

Natsu massaged his temples. His phone was in his car. And his car was probably in the Dumpster. He gulped, mentally making an obituary for his phone;

_R.I.P. Natsu Dragneel's phone._

_Died from hitting Swiss cheese._

"I'm…uh kind of in jail…" he muttered.

Silence. Then: "Natsu, quit messing around."

"I'm serious!" he shouted. The officer glared at him, and Natsu onyx eyes narrowed.

Silence. "Did you murder someone?"

Normally, Natsu found it easy to appreciate Erza's sense of humour. But right now? A little hard.

"Look, I hit a truck. And I need someone to bail me out."

"Why don't you call Lucy?"

Because I am freaking proposing to her, and I DON'T think it's healthy for me to bail me out of jail tonight! "I can't."

"Why not?"

Natsu growled. "Look Erza, can you help me out or not?"

Erza sighed on the other end. "I'm sorry Natsu, I'm not in Magnolia, remember?"

Shit. He forgot.

He didn't bother saying goodbye as he put the phone back in its hold. Now what?! He couldn't even call Lucy now…one call only.

"Done?" the officer smirked. "Poor guy. Wait until morning."

Natsu twitched. Seriously? He didn't give a damn about the Magnolia Police Station anymore.

The officer was dumb. That would work.

Natsu didn't even try. He pointed up towards the off-white ceiling and told the man; "Look."

Voila, he did. Natsu thanked high school football for being such an amazing runner, and raced past the officer, out of the police station.

Two more alert policemen noticed him, took one second to process it all, and immediately raced after him. Natsu looked at his watch which, thanks heavens, was in one piece.

Damn it. He would never be able to make it to Riverside without a car.

Natsu blinked at the Magnolia lights, disoriented. He couldn't even decide whether to cross the road now, or just make a run for it off the pavement. But no matter how great an athlete he was, he wasn't thrilled at the idea of running to Riverside in a freaking suit.

He glanced behind him to see the two officers still hot on his heels. Then he looked desperately around until…

_Ah._

It probably is _not _the safest thing to thread and jump and duck between moving cars to cross a busy Fiore road at night. Fortunately for Natsu, he received a scratch on his arm and arrived on the other side whole.

The abuse being sent his way from the drivers would take a millennium of soap to clean. He stuck out his tongue at them lazily, taking comfort at the fact that the two officers were…gone. Gone.

Uh oh.

He had already jumped onto the black H-D bike parked near a lamppost on the opposite pavement that he had spotted across the main street, when the sound of a police cruiser reached his sensitive ears.

"Just great!" he groaned.

He had probably ridden a bike twice in his life, once when he fractured his arm. He revved, trying to adjust properly, because honestly? He didn't have time. This was his last option to make the most of whatever was left of the night. He _hated _detours.

"Oh, what the hell," he muttered, as he felt the wind cut through his hair when the bike surged forward. It was fast, and it looked expensive, not that Natsu cared. Poor guy who owned it.

The police cruiser behind him was deafening. Seriously, he hit a cheese truck! And okay fine, jumped out of a temporary cell without being bailed. And maybe pushed an officer.

That didn't make him a serial killer, right? What was with that ugly blue and white cab after him?

Twice or thrice the bike almost toppled over at the speed at which Natsu was going. You couldn't blame him, he had never seen an H-D before. It was all cars, but bikes? Nope.

At the rate at which he was going, he would reach Riverside in a few more minutes.

_Lucy. _

Five minutes.

_Lucy._

Cruiser still on his heels.

_Lucy._

Almost there.

Natsu literally flung the bike down when he reached the restaurant. It landed with a heart-breaking crash, and Natsu almost had time to feel sorry for it and make an obituary.

_R.I.P Anonymous bike._

_Died from being stolen and dumped._

The police cruiser was blocked by two other cars, so Natsu took that opportunity to make a run for the restaurant entrance.

The way he leapt off the bike had been pretty cool; he couldn't help wishing Lucy had seen it.

He didn't have to worry about finding Lucy at all.

Just as he was about to enter, a blonde girl stormed out, her face streaked with tears and mascara. She stopped short when she saw her boyfriend of two years, her brown eyes widening in disbelief.

Despite her reaction, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. She looked downright sexy even, not that he would ever have the guts to tell her that.

"Natsu?!"

Said boy got over his shock and grinned sheepishly. "Lucy, I'm so, _so—"_

Apparently, Lucy's shock disappeared as well. She glared at him, almost crying again. "What is _wrong _with you? Do you know I was waiting for one whole hour?! You made it sound like it was such a big night, and I was waiting and waiting and…and _ugh!_" she stomped her foot.

Natsu would normally have laughed at his girlfriend like this and kissed her to calm her down. But now guilt pooled in his stomach at seeing her hurt.

To top it all off, the police cruiser stopped right behind him, three officers getting out. One of them looked ready to punch Natsu.

Natsu acted quickly and stupidly.

Lucy watched in her little black dress as her boyfriend kneeled down on one knee and produced the velvet box from his pocket. He looked up at her through his lashes. "Lucy Heartfilia," he said. "Will you marry me?"

A stunned silence followed.

The people who had stopped to watch all around the street gaped. The people in the restaurant had poked their heads at the commotion. The officers didn't move.

For a horrible moment, Natsu was sure Lucy was going to say no and go away.

Then her eyes softened and she smiled. "Yes. You _idiot._"

Natsu let out an unashamed exuberant cry of joy and slipped the sapphire ring onto her left ring finger. He leaned in press his lips to her as she wrapped her arms around her neck, oblivious to the cheers around them.

The officers were trying not to laugh. One of them tapped Natsu on the shoulder, ruining the moment.

"You're still under arrest."

Lucy broke away from Natsu and raised her eyebrows. "Under arrest?"

Natsu opened his mouth to explain, and then shut it again with quick thinking. Better make most of the moment before he asked Lucy to bail him out this time. "I'll explain that later."

And he went back to kissing her passionately.

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**Happy Birthday lucyglitter11! I know this is one day early, but have an amazing day all the same :) Love you loads, bestie! :)**


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